Brake attachment for skis



Mach 25,1958 M. Kocl 2,828,135

BRAKE ATTACHMENT FOR SKIS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 24, 1956 v MikeK001 23 v IN VEN TOR.

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BRAKE ATTACHMENT FOR sKI's 2 Sheets-Sheeb 2 Filed July 24, 1956 Fig. 5

Mike Koci 8 1 INVENTOR.

BY MM PM BRAKE ATTACHMENT FOR'SKIS 1 MikeKocigDow City, Iowa ApplieatibnJuly 24,1956, Serial No. 599,720- 2 Claims. (Cl; 280'--1 1.13t)

My invention relates to improvements in brake attach- UnitedStatesPatent ments for' skis to' enable the wearer' of skis to safety climbsnow andicecovered slopes.

The primary object. of my invention is to provide an improved form ofspur blade at the rear end of a ski which will. hold a ski from slidingbackwards on-snow or ice covered slopes regardless of whether the ice?or snow is soft or hard frozen or thick or thin, together with. meansot'simple form and inexpensive construction for: attaching the blade to aski. for. lowering and. raising the blade into and from workingpositions, and lever and crank means attachable to the ski in readilyaccessible and easily operative position for coaction with the bladeattaching means to raise and lock the blade in an idle position, suchthat it will not interfere with normal skiing.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a view in side elevation partly broken away of my improvedbrake attachment applied to a ski with the blade lowered into workingposition for climbing on slopes covered with deep snow;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure l, but illustrating the spur bladeinworking position for climbing on slopes covered with ice;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figures 1 and 2, but illustrating the spurblade raised and locked in idle position for normal skiing;

Figure 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the spur blade and attachingmeans therefor;

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the brake attachmentapplied to a ski with the spur blade positioned as in Figure 1;

Figure 6 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of the same;

Figure 7 is a fragmentary view in longitudinal section taken on the line7--7 of Figure 5; and

Figure 8 is a fragmentary view in longitudinal section taken on the sameline as Figure 7, but with the spur blade raised and locked in idleposition, as in Figure 3.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, the spur blade, designatedgenerally by the numeral 1, and which is rectangular in shape and ofsuitable metal, is carried in upright position transversely of the ski3, rearwardly of the rear end 5 of the ski, by attaching meansdesignated generally by the numeral 7 and presently described, said spurplate 1 being curved downwardly and rearwardly in cross-section,provided with a longitudinal, forwardly projecting flange 9 at its upperedge, and with a pair of depending, needle-pointed spurs 11 at the lowercorners thereof inclining downwardly and rearwardly.

The attaching means 7 comprises a pair of parallel metal bars 13extending forwardly from the spur plate 1 over the rear portion of theski 3, parallel with opposite sides of the ski, and connectedintermediate the ends ice thereof by a cross barv 15 set into andwelded, as. at 16,. to said' bars.

The. bars 13. carry; the spur plate 1. on. rear ends. 17 thereof in.depending position, with the flange. 9. overlying said ends 17,. and.said. endsv suitably connected to, said: flange. 9 and.to said. plate atopposite side: edges of. the plate by welding,.not.shown.. The frontends-19:of. the bars 13 are pivoted,,as. at 21, between. verticalears 23.onopposite ends of. an. attaching cross bar. 25 which is. secured on.the. ski 3 transversely thereof by screws. 27, so that bars 13 arevertically swingable ontheattaching bar 25 to raise andtlowerthespurblade 1 into'idle and working .positions,.respectively. Diagonalbrace rods 29 are. welded,. as at 31,33,710 the. flange9- and tov theside -barsr 13.

A tension spring 35: provided withtend'hooks 37, 39,oneofc-whichis-engaged in the central aperture 41-.in-the flange.9-andthe other of. whichis engaged in.eyet screw- 43 onthe. ski. 3,urges thespur plate 1- downwardly.

The:lever: andscrank means: comprises arodi 45 rotatablyv attached. ontop. of. the. ski-3 to extend longitudinally. thereof by eye. screws 47in said. ski, said rod" being provided. at. its front end with arightangled handle 49 terminating, in-.a handagrip 51. Therod' 45 terminatesat its rear end in a crank 53 provided with a tubular roller 55 andunderlying the bar 15 for rotation to raise said bar 15 and the bars 13to raise the spur blade 1. The crank 53 lies in a plane oblique to thehandle 49 for the purpose presently seen. I

Referring now to the use and operation of the brake attachment, whenclimbing in deep snow, indicated generally at 57 in Figure 1, the handle49 is swung into upright position in which the crank 53 is rotated tolie flat against the ski 3, with the handle 49 inclining slightly towardthe side of the rod 45 from which the crank 53 projects, and as shown inFigure 5. The spring 35 tends to pull the spur blade 1 downwardly intothe snow until the rear ends 17 of the bars 13 engage the ski 3, asshown in Figure 1, said blade embedding in the snow prevent the ski 3from sliding backwards. As the wearer of the ski 3 walks forwardly, thespur blade 1 tends to rise out of the snow because of its downward andrearward curvature. On the other hand, when the spur blade 1 is loweredinto the snow, and because of said curvature thereof, it tends to digdeeper into the snow when ski 3 tends to slide backwards.

In climbing on an ice covered slope, indicated at 59 in Figure 2, withthe handle 49 in the described position, the spur blade is lowered bythe spring 35 to dig the spurs 11 into the ice, and as the wearer of theski 3 walks forwardly, the spurs 11 are pulled out of the ice because ofthe described inclination thereof. When the spurs dig into the ice, andbecause of the described inclination thereof, they tend to dig deeperinto the ice when the ski 3 tends to slip backwards.

In normal skiing, on a slope indicated at 61 in Figure 3, the handle 49is rotated toward the left side of the ski 3 until it engages said skiflatly. This rotates the crank 53 into the upstanding position shown inFigures 3 and 8, so that said crank lifts the cross bar 15 to lift thebars 13 into upwardly and rearwardly inclined position to lift the spurplate above the snow or ice into idle position. In the idle position ofthe spur blade 1, the cross bar 15 in response to the pull of the spring35 exerts downward pressure against the crank 53 to maintain the handle49 fiat against the top of the ski 3 and the crank 53 and handle 49project from the same side of the rod 45, so that they cannot rotateunder the pressure of the bar 15 against the crank, and whereby the bars13 are locked in upwardly and rearwardly inclined position and the spurblade 1 locked in raised idle position.

The rod 45, handle 49 and crank 53 are as described in the foregoingwhen the attachment is applied to a left foot ski, shown in thedrawings. When the attachment is applied to a right foot ski, the handle49 and crank 53 are. raised for locking operation ,byrotation of thehandle 49'toward the right hand side of'the right foot ski. V Thebars 13are to be spaced apart to overlie diiferent widths of skis adjacent thesides of the skis.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles ofthe invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to .the exact construction and operation shown anddescribed, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalentsmay be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention asclaimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A brake attachment for a ski to prevent backward sliding thereof onsnow comprising a rectangular blade adapted to be disposed behind a skiin vertical position transversely of said ski, a pair of laterallyspaced bars adapted to extend forwardly over the rear end portion ofsaid ski, said bars having rear ends attached to said plate at oppositeside edges of the blade, a cross bar connecting said pair of bars, anattaching bar for said pair of bars attachable on a ski transverselythereof, means pivotally connecting said pair of bars on said attachingbar for vertical swinging to lower and raise said blade into or out ofsnow, a rod adapted to be rotatably attached on said ski to extendlongitudinally thereof and extending longitudinally above and acrosssaid attaching bar, a handle on one end of said rod for rotating thesame, and a crank on the other end of said rod beneath and engageablewith said cross bar to lift said cross bar and thereby swing said pair'of bars for raising said blade in response to rotation of said rod.

2. The combination of claim 1,' said handle being rotatable intoengagement with said ski to rotate said crank in upright position toengage and lift said cross bar and swing said pair of bars upwardly forraising said blade, the upright position of said crank being establishedby engagement of said handle with said ski to lock said blade in raisedposition.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,446,945 Sunderland Feb. 27, 1923 2,739,820 Fairfax Mar. 27, 1956FOREIGN PATENTS 137,709 Austria -Q May 25, 1934 138,050 Austria liune25, 1934 366,275 Italy Dec. 22, 1938 38,771 Norway Jan. 14, 1924 137,772Switzerland Apr. 16, 1930

